Law, Power, and Justice

Monday 12 February 2024

News Notes: Russia/Ukraine

• Slava Ukraini
• Boris Nadezhdis is a pro-peace presidential candidate in Russia.  Election officials barred him from running.  He has asked Russia’s Supreme Court challenging the decision.

News Notes: Israel

• Israeli strikes in Rafah. Two hostages freed.
• A court in the Netherlands ordered the Dutch government to stop exporting parts for a fighter jet to Israel.
• The IDF confirms an attack on a vehicle in southern Lebanon which killed Hezbollah operatives.  In addition, Hezbollah military buildings and terrorist infrastructure were attacked in Lebanon.
• The US says it won’t support an Israeli raid on Rafah without a plan for displaced Palestinians.
• Smotrich says that there is a “joint American, British and Arab effort to establish a terrorist state” next to Israel.
• Israeli sources say it is still not known whether released hostages received the medication that was part of a deal between Israel and Hamas last month.
• Netanyahu complained to Biden about the sanctions against four Israeli settlers.  (Note: Most of them are young men, unlikely to have substantial assets which will be affected.  Seems a lot of show and nothing more).
• U.K. sanctions four Israeli settlers.
• The chief prosecutor of the ICC warned Israel that they may be faced with war crimes charges if they go ahead with the ground invasion of Gaza. (Telegraph)
• The Iranian foreign minister warned that a ground invasion in Gaza could result in “severe consequences.”
•  

Shemer, Nesya (2/12/24) How Hamas Betrays Islam, Haaretz.

• Hamas is “currently attempting to rewrite the atrocities it committed on October 7 so that they comply with ‘Islamic values.’”
• This cannot hide their “violations of core Islamic laws of war.”
• A recent memo issued by Hamas claims that they did not harm civilians on October 7.  This is despite the atrocity-filled attack they filmed themselves.
• The memo said: “the Palestinian resistance was fully disciplined and committed to the Islamic values during the operation…”
• The most fundamental principle of Islamic war is a “prohibition against harming the elderly, children, women and workers…”
• The images Hamas itself posted online were so gruesome they started blurring the images.
• According to Islamic law, rape of women is forbidden, even in wartime.

News Notes: Trump, Capitalism and the Decline of Democracy

• Trump is funding his legal expenses through a PAC.
• The Trump appeal to the Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court, starts with a sentence quoting Yogi Barra.  Just think about that.
• https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24424105-trump-stay-petition-to-scotus

Book:

Christie-Miller, Alexander () To the City: Life and Death Along the Ancient Walls of Istanbul.  William Collins. 

• When Christie-Miller first went to Turkey as a journalist, people were still giving Erdogan a lot of credit for developing a civilized society.
• The wall now marks not the limits of the city, but it’s center.
• He tells the story of people living around the ancient walls of Istanbul.
• Drug problems in Istanbul.

Personal Notes

• I truly don’t know whether I can make it through the next few months until November.  I am filled with anxiety and dread.  We keep talking about where to move.  With nine cats.  People don’t realize how this authoritarian state is going to affect their lives.  People are going to be walking around saying: “They can’t do that.”  But they can.  You gave them the right to.  I am scared.